UK lawmakers denounce execution of Tibetans by Chinese governmentFriday, 30 October 2009, 4:53 p.m.
Dharamshala: An
‘Early Day Motion’ tabled in the British Parliament Monday condemned
the Chinese government for recent executions of two Tibetans for their
alleged involvement in the protests in Tibet’s Lhasa last year.The
motion forwarded by Harry Cohen, Chair of the All Party Parliamentary
Group for Tibet, with cross party support, called on the foreign
secretary to press the Chinese government on the whereabouts of three
Tibetans, who each received death sentences with a two year reprieve.In
April this year three Tibetans – Tenzin Phuntsok, Kangtsuk and Penkyi,
aged 21 of Sakya County – were issued suspended death sentence each
with a two-year reprieve by the Lhasa Intermediate People’s Court.”The
House is shocked and saddened by the news of the deplorable judicial
executions of Lobsang Gyaltsen and Loyak in Lhasa on 20 October 2009,”
the motion noted.Two more Tibetans – Penkyi and an unidentified
person- were also executed on 20 October, according to information
received by the Central Tibetan Administration.The motion fully
supported the Minister of State’s condemnation of these executions and
the doubts expressed in his statement on the lack of due legal
processes in these cases.It urged the British Government to
state clearly what measures it will take to ensure the Chinese
government reviews the cases of those who remain under sentence of
death for their alleged involvement in last year’s unrest.The
motion further called on the government to obtain clarification on
reports that two further Tibetans were executed at the same time and,
if the report is verified, under what legal processes these executions
were carried out since there is no information on any other Tibetans
having received death sentences without reprieve.The Tibet Society has called on its members and the UK-Tibet supporters to contact their MPs to sign the motion.Cross
party MPs from the All Party Parliamentary Group for Tibet have also
written directly to the Foreign Secretary, David Miliband to follow up
on the motion.
